Ophthalmic mounting



June 19, 1934. R J FLEMlNG 1,963,656

OPHTHALMIC MOUNTING Filed Sept. 1. 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Raw; J. W51 66% A 5 EY June 19, 1934. R. J. FLEMING OPHTHALMIC MOUNTING 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 1, 1932 R O T N E V W Robert J.FImin?.

ATT NEY I Patented June 19, 1934 UNITED STATES 1,963,656 OPHTHALMICMOUNTING Robert James Fleming, London, England, as-

signor to American Optical Company, Southbridge, Mass, a voluntaryassociation of Massachusetts- Application September 1, 1932, Serial No.631,346

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in ophthalmic mountings andhasparticular reference to new and improved guard arm and bridgeconnections for the same.

This application is a continuation of my application Serial Number295,750, filed July 27, 1928.

The principal object of the invention is to provide new andimprovedguard arm and bridge connections which may be made of barmaterial as distinguished from stamped or cut out material so that, inthe case of the use of material having a base metal core and a preciousmetal exterior, there will be no exposed base metal at the edges of theparts.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means forconnectingthe bridge of an ophthalmic mounting to accommodate the browor forehead configuration of the wearer.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved for adjusting thelenses of an ing.

Another object of simple, efiicient and economical means of connecting,the guards and bridges of ophthalmic mountings to fit various facialrequirements. and to make desired adjustments therefor. Another objectof the invention is to provide improved means whereby bridges of varioussizes may be attached to an ophthalmic mounting.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means wherebyvarious types of guards may be applied to an ophthalmic mounting.

ophthalmic mountbined metallic and non-metallic rims.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple, economical andefficient means for connecting the guard arms andbridge to an ophblingoperations are greatly reduced.

Another important object of the invention is to reduce thecapitalinvestment of the dealer in means for connecting the bridge andthe invention is to provide Another object of the invention isto provideless, composition rims, metallic rims and comthalmic mounting and forforming the parts thereof whereby the cost'of material'a'ndassemtheamount of stock necessary to meet various.

dimensional requirements and variations in personal taste of design.

Other objects and advantages of theinven tion will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, and it will be apparent that many changes may be made in thearrangements of parts and details of construction without depart,- ingfrom the spirit of the invention as expressed by the accompanyingclaims. I, therefore, do not wish to be limitedto the exact details andarrangements shown and described as the preferred forms only. have beenshown byway of illus tration.

Referring to the drawings: Fig. I is a rear perspective view of anophthal: mic mounting embodyingthe invention; i

Fig. II is an enlarged sectional elevation on line II-II of Fig. I; Fig.III is an enlarged partial plan view of Fig. I, partly shown in section;f r

Fig. IV is a perspective view similar to Fig. I of a modified form ofthe invention; Fig. V is an enlarged sectional elevation on the line V-V of Fig. IV; v

Fig. VI is an enlarged partial plan'view. of Fig. IV shown partlyinsection;

Fig. VII is a rear elevation of an ophthalmic mounting showing anothermodified form of the invention; Fig. VIII is an enlarged sectionalelevation on the line VIII VIII of Fig. VII;

Fig. IX is an enlarged sectional elevation on line IX-IX of Fig. VII; I7 v Fig. X is an enlarged partial plan view of 'Fig. XI is a fragmentaryperspective view of another modified form of the. invention; Fig. XII isa sectional view of the line XII-XII fF aXk r Figs. XIII, XIV and XV areviews similar to. Fig. XII illustrating further modifications of theinvention; 1 g

Fig. XVI is a front elevation of a separate bridge bar member Fig. XVIIis a view similar to Fig. XVI showing another form of bridge bar member;

Fig. XVIII-is a view similar to Fig. VIII show ing how the position oftheattachment of the bridge to the guard arm may be varied;

, In the fitting of ophthalmic mountings it has been foundfromexperience that it isverydifiicult if not practically impossible fora wearer to obtaina mounting exactly fitted to his facial requirementsof the particular designwhichhe tractive forms as hereinabove referredto.

desires. The distance between the eyes varies in different people; thebrow configuration is different in different people; the types of nosesvary in different people; and the tastes of different people vary as tothe configuration and design of the mounting, It is, therefore,desirable that provision be made by which the dispensing. optician bysimply carrying a number of difierent parts can assemble them to thefacial requirements and the design desired. This reduces the ing incontact with the skin, which is liable tocauseinjurious effects due tothe action of perspiration on the base metal.

It is, therefore, the prime object of my invention to provide new andimproved guard arm and bridge connections for ophthalmic mountingsovercoming all the disadvantages of the prior art and: obtaining theadvantages of facilitating assembly and the use of filled material, asset forth hereinabove. It will readily be seen that with; sucharrangements I can provide not only thenecessary clearances, size andadjustments, but also any desired design of bridge or guard, making theadaptability of the mounting practi'callyuniversal and reducing greatlythe investment in stock of material which the dispensing Opticianhastocarry.

The primary feature, therefore, of the present invention i's-theproduction of an ophthalmic mounting of the type above described whichis characterized in that the bridge and guard arms are formed ofseparate pieces of material and in the finished article are as respectsthe guard arms soldered or otherwise secured to the lens rims orlens-mountings and as to the bridge connected, for example, soldered,screwed or riveted to the guard arms, This arrangement is simple andcheap tomanufacture and can be made up in at- For a more completeunderstanding of this and other features of the invention there will nowbe described byway of example only certain constructional forms ofophthalmic mountings accordingtothe invention. It is to be understood,however, that the invention is not restricted to the preciseconstruction and details set forth.

Referring to the drawings wherein similar refference characters denotecorresponding; parts throughout, it will be noted that the inventionconsists primarily in an arm carrying the nose guard, said arm beingsecured to the mounting and a separable bridge member attached totheguard arms.

The construction shown in Figs. I, II- and III comprises a pair of lensrims 1' having the usual templesz secured; thereto by the endpiecememhers-"3; The lens rims 1 are connected central- 15' by the bridgemember 4 having the cross arch portion 5 and the descending portions 6,the ends of" the descending portions being widened or broadened out toform a rivet or screw connectioni'l; I he guard arms 8 are bent into abox form 9 in which the, widened or broadened out ends of the descendingportions 6 are secured by any suitable means, such as a screw or rivet10. The end of the box form 9 is soldered or otherwise secured to thelens rim 1 at the point 11 and the guard 12 is secured to the oppositeend of the guard arm 8. This connection may be solid or pivoted asdesired. The mounting is assembled by placing the widened end of thedescending portion 6 in the box 9 and securing it therein by the screw10.

It will be seen that while the guard arms 8 are rigidly secured to thelens rims 1 in this construction, the ends of the bridge are separatelyattached to. the guard arms and, therefore, different widths of bridges,different designs of bridges and bridges of different insets ando-utsets may be. used to provide for the individual taste of the wearerand for this facial characteristic.

In Figs. IV, V and VI, I have shown the guard arms 8 secured to theinner rim of a combined metal and non-metallic lens; rim. The said rimcomprises the inner rim 13 of metal having a suit.- able lens groove inwhich the lens 1'4 is seated and an outer rim 15 of celluloid or othernonmetallic material fitting thereover. The guard arm 8- is soldered orotherwise secured to the inner metal rim at 16 so that the non-metallicrim 15 may fit therearound. In this construction the ends of the bridgeare soldered to the guard arms at 1:7. This provides a convenient andneat attachment for the so-called combinationor inner rim constructions.The bridge 4 is. separate from the guard arm. and bridges of differentdesigns, sizes and widths may, therefore, be used to provide for theindividual taste of the wearer and: to fit various facial requirements.The bridge may also besoldered at various points. between the rim andthe guard 12 to provide any desired inset or outset, making a facileand. simple way of providing for the brow or forehead clearance.

In Figs. VII, VIII, IX and X, I haveshown. the guard arm 8 secured to aclamp 18 adapted to fit around and hold the cellulose or compositionrims 19. The bridge is soldered or otherwise secured to. the guard arm 8as in the case of. the device shown in Fig. V, and the guard12islikewise secured to the end-ofthe guard arm.

In Figs. XI and XII, I have shown the guard arm 8 as secured at 21-to-the inne'rmetalli'crim 13 of a combined metallic and non-metallicophthalmic mounting. The guard arm 8isprovided with a slot 22' and teeth23 overwhich the box end 24 of the bridge'is fitted, it being heldthereon by thescrew 25'. The box end 24: ofthe bridge is formed bywidening and bending the end of the descending portion 6 and is providedwith suitable teeth 26' which interlock with the teeth 23,0n the-guardarm. This providesa rigidcon'r nection between: the bridge and guard.arm and it is clear that the box end of the bridgemaybe adjusted indesiredgposition between the rim and guard. Provision is thereby madefor. adjustment of; the bridge to. the desired inset or. outset toaccommodate, the brow or forehead con-- figuration of the wearer andalso, allowstheuse of various sizes and styles of bridges.

InFig. XIII. the guard arm 8 is providedwith a forward loop 27 attached,at, 2,8, to the, front, of the lens rim 1. This, provides means ofvarying the distance between the lenses to accommodate the pupillarydistance of the wearer. The adjustment is made by bending the guard, arm8 to increase or decrease the size of the; loop.

In Fig. XIV the guard arm 8 is provided with a rearward loop 29 to whichthe guard 12 is loosely attached so that it may automatically adjustitself to the nose of the wearer. The

loop 29 provides means of varying the position of the guard toaccommodate variations in the shape of the nose and other facialvariations.-

In Fig. XV the guard arm 8 is provided with the forward loop 2'7 andrearward loop 29 to give the combined adjustments of the devices shownin Figs. XIII and XIV. The position of the attach-v ment of the bridgeto the guard arm mayalso be varied as in the case of the device shown inFigs. VIII and IX. The guard 12 is rigidly secured at 30 to the end ofthe guard arm 8'and the position of the guard with respect to the noseof the wearer is controlled by adjusting the loop 29.

Fig. XVI illustrates the bridge member shown throughout the invention,and Fig. XVII illustrates a modified form of bridge member. These bridgemembers are made in various sizes and designs and are attached to theguard arm 8 as previously described. V

In Fig. XVIII, I have shown the guard arm 8 secured to the ordinary lensclip or clamp 31 of a rimless mounting, the same being made integraltherewith or soldered or otherwise secured to the lens clip. The'bridgeis soldered or 'connected to the guard arms as" in the case of thepreviously described constructions, and the guard 1 12 is attached atits top to the end of the arm 8.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have providedsimple, efiicient and economical means for carrying out and obtainingZarms of various sizes, shapes and designs may be used and so connectedas to clear the browand facial configurations of the wearer and by whichmeans the position of the guards, lenses and heights of bridges may beobtained.

, It will be clear that. my invention is'applicable to practically allforms and types .of ophthalmic mountings wherein the lenses areconnected by a the nose in the horizontal'plane', the end portionsthereof extending rearwardly of the lens holding means and thencedownwardly to a bitending rearwardly and downwardly to a loop,

thence forwardly to a, guard connection and a nose guard secured to thesaid guard connection, said downwardly extending parts of the bridge andsaid two arms of the bifurcation all lying in substantially the samevertical plane substantially normal and tangent to the nasal sides ofthe lens holding means to leave clear the nose space between them andsaid portion between the branch and the end of the bridge portion beingadjustable. by bending V to' position the bridge portion towards or awayfrom the plane of the lens holding means and to increase or decrease thedistance between the lens holding means, and also to position the guardtowards or away from the plane of the lens holding means and said loopportion of the rearward arm of the bifurcation being adjustable bybending to raise, lower, or incline the nose guard with respect to thenose.

2. In an ophthalmic mounting," means for. holding a pair'of lenses andbridging and nose guard means comprising a bridging portion extendingbetween the lens holding means in substantially a horizontal directionand arched to the cross sectionshape of the nose, the ends of saidportion extending to the rear of 'the' plane'of the lenses, thenextending substantially vertically downward and substantially parallelto the plane of the lenses and spaced rearward thereof and lyingsubstantially in a plane normal to the edges of the lenses, saiddownward portion extending to a bifurcation, one portion of thebifurcation extending forwardly and upwardly to the lens holding means,and the otherportion extending downwardly and rearwardly to a loop andthence forwardly to a nose guard connection, and a-nose guard securedtothe nose guard connection, said downwardly'extending portion of thebridgeportion and upwardly extending bifurcation and lens holding meansforming a substantially U shaped loop lying substantially in a planenormal to the edge of the lens, andsaid rearwardly extending bifurcationforming a loop member; with its end extending forwardly and lyingsubstantially in a plane oblique to the plane. of thelenses.

- ,ROBERT JAMES FLEMING

